1 review liked by skitty
Sonic the Hedgehog
1991
Dr. Robotnik has imprisoned the animals of South Island, and it's up to Sonic to free his friends and gather the 6 Chaos Emeralds (yes, this was before there was 7) to put a stop to the Doctor's evil plans.
This was the game that made hardcore Nintendo elitists green with envy. It was evident that the Genesis was superior to the NES on a technical level, but this was the game that put the Genesis on full blast. Lush shades of green sped by as you dashed through Green Hill, stars brightly twinkled in the night sky of Starlight Zone, and ominous lava glowed in the caverns of Marble Garden. What escalated the environments even further was a truly memorable soundtrack by Masato Nakamura of Dreams Come True fame.
The locations set in the world of Mario had been wacky, colorful and fun, but there was an odd alluring presence to Sonic's world. While much more bright and colorful then anything an NES could create, there was an odd sense of heightened realism to the world of Sonic. Mario's world only existed in our dreams, but Sonic's didn't seem that far off from our own world. Lush islands, ancient ruins, moon bathed cities, Sonic seemed so much closer to us then Mario could ever be. Maybe that's what helped worm Sonic into the public conscience so easily, though the spiky mascots attitude and design, a stark contrast to Mario's squeaky clean disposition, was the gun that set Sega's little blue money maker to the races.
Over the years, this game has been heavily criticized for being too slow in comparison to the later and superior games. While I do think this criticism is fair, I will however argue that I don't believe that this makes Sonic the Hedgehog a blatantly bad game. Yes, this game was heavily marketed to be a speed fest and in hindsight that was definitely more of a marketing gimmick then an actual feature (Sonic's top speed in this game really isn't that impressive), but the platforming in this game still delivers a satisfactory experience.
A decent amount of the platforming in this game revolves around building up Sonic's speed and momentum whether it be through slopes, ramps, or shuttle loops. It is with said momentum that Sonic can enter alternate paths and locations, unlocking different and often times faster means to reach the end of a level.
Speedrunning has always been especially popular with Sonic, and there's a good reason for that: this game encourages a deep understanding of both the levels themselves and how Sonic controls. No one is going to be amazing the first time they play a Sonic game. More often then not they're going to run off a ledge or smack right into an enemy. This is often a point of criticism from most people wishing to get through the game as quickly as possible, but Sonic refuses to give you satisfaction that easily. This game encourages you to play through its levels multiple times, learning the intricacies of the games 6 zones and how best to master them. If you're willing to give the game your time, you'll find that you're completing levels much more quickly. Sonic doesn't just want you play the game until you beat it. It wants you to look good while doing it. This was the basis for most Sonic games going forward.
...the main issue with this specific game however is that at least half of the game doesn't focus on said momentum for its platforming challenges. Green Hill, Spring Yard and Starlight Zone are very open and encourage Sonic's momentum based traversal, while Marble Garden, Labyrinth Zone and to a lesser extent Scrap Brain are closed off and force more limited movement. Still fun levels to play through and beat, but its easy to understand how the sheer euphoria of rocketing yourself through the sky of Green Hill can make the underwater plarforming of Labyrinth Zone stale in comparison.
Sonic the Hedgehog is definitely not the best classic Sonic game, but its still an enjoyable experience. Its biggest flaw is that it doesn't fully focus on Sonic's ground breaking momentum based platforming. While still offering fun gameplay, even when Sonic is taking a breather, the lack of focus takes the soaring potential crashing back to Earth.
This was the game that made hardcore Nintendo elitists green with envy. It was evident that the Genesis was superior to the NES on a technical level, but this was the game that put the Genesis on full blast. Lush shades of green sped by as you dashed through Green Hill, stars brightly twinkled in the night sky of Starlight Zone, and ominous lava glowed in the caverns of Marble Garden. What escalated the environments even further was a truly memorable soundtrack by Masato Nakamura of Dreams Come True fame.
The locations set in the world of Mario had been wacky, colorful and fun, but there was an odd alluring presence to Sonic's world. While much more bright and colorful then anything an NES could create, there was an odd sense of heightened realism to the world of Sonic. Mario's world only existed in our dreams, but Sonic's didn't seem that far off from our own world. Lush islands, ancient ruins, moon bathed cities, Sonic seemed so much closer to us then Mario could ever be. Maybe that's what helped worm Sonic into the public conscience so easily, though the spiky mascots attitude and design, a stark contrast to Mario's squeaky clean disposition, was the gun that set Sega's little blue money maker to the races.
Over the years, this game has been heavily criticized for being too slow in comparison to the later and superior games. While I do think this criticism is fair, I will however argue that I don't believe that this makes Sonic the Hedgehog a blatantly bad game. Yes, this game was heavily marketed to be a speed fest and in hindsight that was definitely more of a marketing gimmick then an actual feature (Sonic's top speed in this game really isn't that impressive), but the platforming in this game still delivers a satisfactory experience.
A decent amount of the platforming in this game revolves around building up Sonic's speed and momentum whether it be through slopes, ramps, or shuttle loops. It is with said momentum that Sonic can enter alternate paths and locations, unlocking different and often times faster means to reach the end of a level.
Speedrunning has always been especially popular with Sonic, and there's a good reason for that: this game encourages a deep understanding of both the levels themselves and how Sonic controls. No one is going to be amazing the first time they play a Sonic game. More often then not they're going to run off a ledge or smack right into an enemy. This is often a point of criticism from most people wishing to get through the game as quickly as possible, but Sonic refuses to give you satisfaction that easily. This game encourages you to play through its levels multiple times, learning the intricacies of the games 6 zones and how best to master them. If you're willing to give the game your time, you'll find that you're completing levels much more quickly. Sonic doesn't just want you play the game until you beat it. It wants you to look good while doing it. This was the basis for most Sonic games going forward.
...the main issue with this specific game however is that at least half of the game doesn't focus on said momentum for its platforming challenges. Green Hill, Spring Yard and Starlight Zone are very open and encourage Sonic's momentum based traversal, while Marble Garden, Labyrinth Zone and to a lesser extent Scrap Brain are closed off and force more limited movement. Still fun levels to play through and beat, but its easy to understand how the sheer euphoria of rocketing yourself through the sky of Green Hill can make the underwater plarforming of Labyrinth Zone stale in comparison.
Sonic the Hedgehog is definitely not the best classic Sonic game, but its still an enjoyable experience. Its biggest flaw is that it doesn't fully focus on Sonic's ground breaking momentum based platforming. While still offering fun gameplay, even when Sonic is taking a breather, the lack of focus takes the soaring potential crashing back to Earth.
